Team India all-rounder Axar Patel denied the fact that he was fired up and he also wanted to prove a point after being not selected in the T20I and Test squad for the South Africa tour. After picking up 3/16 in the fourth T20I in Raipur against Australia, Axar said that he bowled normally, like in the previous three T20Is as well. However, the BCCI selectors, on Thursday, November 30, announced the squads for the upcoming tour of South Africa for three ODIs, three T20Is, and two Tests and Axar Patel was only picked for the ODI team as well.

At a post-match press conference after India’s T20I series win in Raipur, he said, “These things [selection] are not in my hand. It’s not like my name is not there, so I am fired up. It could be the opposite as well. If I had gone for a few, people would have said I was upset. It works both ways. Nothing like that, I was normal. Obviously, Jaddu bhai [Ravindra Jadeja] is coming back, so I was replaced. There was nothing of that sort in my mind that I am not in that team, so I have to prove myself. The decision is up to the selectors. I followed what I was doing in the first three matches. I am happy to get among the wickets.”

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However, Axar Patel dismissed Travis Head, Aaron Hardie, and Ben McDermott as Australia managed 154/7 in the fourth T20I after being set a target of 175 as well. The fifth and final T20I will be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, December 3.

“Planning was the same. There was dew in the first three games, so was bowling back of length a bit. There wasn’t much dew here, ball was a bit dry, so we got a chance to give the ball some air as the seam wasn’t as wet. That was a plus point. There was some grass on the pitch, so some balls were skidding and some were stopping. They [Australian batters] found it a bit difficult,” Axar Patel concluded.